


This is 1922

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You [7]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:55:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27882609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe Doctor, Rose, and Donna spend some time in 1922 after their trip to Cardiff in the story “Reunions”. This is a fluffy, happy story with some adult content for our two main characters (Ten/Rose).“New York, 1922!” the Doctor exclaimed. “Quite the time. Speakeasies, dancing, new age novels, and everyone wants to be a stenographer.” He winked at Rose, who was starting her signature smile. Donna was wide-eyed.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030980
Comments: 8
Kudos: 136





	This is 1922

**Author's Note:**

> Just some easy joy like they deserve :)

Donna’s nerves were fluttering as she watched the Doctor and Rose smile at each other. The Doctor turned to her, and gestured to the TARDIS door. 

“After you, Donna Noble,” he said, and as much as Donna wanted to, she suddenly couldn’t find the ability to move her legs. 

“I can’t,” she said, and she jumped a little as Rose’s hand found hers. 

“Of course you can,” she told her, and squeezed. Donna looked at her, and her hazel galaxies eased her nerves. The Doctor was watching her adoringly, and he shook his head in amazement at her when she was able to get Donna to stand and lead all three of them outside. 

“New York, 1922!” the Doctor exclaimed. “Quite the time. Speakeasies, dancing, new age novels, and everyone wants to be a stenographer.” He winked at Rose, who was starting her signature smile. Donna was wide-eyed. 

“We’re really in 1922?” she asked. The Doctor grinned. 

“Yep!” he said, popping the ‘p’. 

“New York?!” she asked. 

“Yep!” he said. 

“We have to change, then!” Donna announced. The Doctor groaned. Rose alone already took ages to change on missions where they required costumes. 

“Nooooo, you don’t, it’ll be fine -” the Doctor protested, but Donna raised a finger and shouted. 

“Oi, are you daft? Can’t bloody well walk around in trousers and a blazer in 1922, now, can I? I’m changing!” she said. Rose’s eyes caught the Doctor’s as Donna walked back inside the TARDIS. 

“Oh, I love her,” she said, smiling and running in after her. The Doctor sighed. 

“Rose? Twenty minutes!” he called. He could hear Donna shouting in the distance, and Rose directed her to the wardrobe, and he sat in the pilot’s seat, waiting with a tapping foot. 

Donna emerged first, wrapped in a deep green dress in a classic 1920s style, with a long straight-cut torso and a matching skirt. It complimented her red hair, which she had clipped back, and she was grinning at the Doctor as she bounded through the hallway to the console. He was sitting with his cheek squished against his palm, and he acknowledged her with a small nod, still bored, and she rolled her eyes at him. 

“Oi, dumbo, you think I’ll fit in now?” she asked. 

“Yes, yes, you look lovely,” he told her, not looking at her, and she sighed. 

“Rose looks quite stunning if I do say so myself,” she told him with a gleam in her eye, and chuckled as he suddenly looked up at her for the first time since she joined him in the console. 

Practically on cue, Rose walked in after Donna. Her dress was a little more ‘night on the town’ compared to Donna’s, but the look on Donna’s face told the Doctor she had pushed her to make that choice. 

He sat up straight, taking her in like she was a medicine he couldn’t live without. 

Completely, absolutely, inconsequentially breathtaking. 

A black sequined flapper dress clung to her body. The cut made it impossible to highlight every curve the Doctor knew was there, but the mystery made it all the more enticing. There was a loose fringe at the hem on her calves, dangling down and shimmying with each move she made. She wore heels, which the Doctor realized he had never actually seen her wear before, and he felt a lump in his throat when he realized she was also holding the bag from 2056, which he could only assume meant she traded the vials and microchips for with a pair of trainers. 

Just in case. 

His eyes trailed the embroidered diamonds that cut along the black fabric by her shoulders and down by her calves, a shade of gold that immediately made him think of Bad Wolf, and he suddenly felt even more choked up. He couldn’t speak. 

She _saved him_ today. 

They hadn’t yet had a moment alone after he processed that fact, and his mouth suddenly felt very dry. 

She’s saved him every day for nearly four years. 

His impossible human. 

She was smiling at him, and he had to close his eyes for a moment to brace himself before locking his chocolates with her galaxies, knowing full well their hold on him. He noticed she had pinned her hair up, and added a headband with a gold feather to her ensemble. He smiled like an idiot at her. 

“You look beautiful,” he whispered, finally finding his voice. Donna, sensing a tender moment for the newlyweds, acted like she just realized there were orbs on the walls, and she moved to one on the opposite end of the TARDIS, turning her back to them as the Doctor stood, and caught Rose’s lips in a soft kiss. 

She had spritzed a bit of perfume on her wrists and neck, and now smelled of honey and peonies, which made the Doctor’s stomach flip. He kissed her harder for a moment, before leaning down to whisper in her ear. 

“That dress will look wonderful on our bedroom floor later, hm?” he murmured, his voice raspy. Rose felt that familiar warm feeling he gave her rise in her abdomen, and she arched into his touch. 

“Not fair,” she gasped quietly. And he nibbled on her neck, just for a moment, giving her a tease of what was to come. 

Rose’s eyes were dark and full of lust when he stepped back, and he calmly slipped his hand in hers, his eyes lingering on her mouth for a moment. She licked her lips, which made him whimper, and he kissed her again before they heard Donna clearing her throat. It had been four minutes. 

The Doctor didn’t jump at the sound, or immediately shift to his normal ‘tour guide’ persona like Rose would have expected. They may be married, but he was still the Doctor. He surprised her, however, simply moving away slowly and turning to Donna with ease. 

“Allons-y, Rose Tyler. Donna Noble!” he said happily, and they all walked out with a pep in their step. 

:::

1922, it turns out, lived up to the hype. 

That’s what Donna Noble was thinking as they walked down 5th Avenue, a flurry of eager shoppers walking in and out of Saks and similar department stores. All the women were captivating. Glorious hairstyles, luxurious outfits, even the more plain ones, and an easiness that Donna simply wasn’t used to, especially since she started working in politics. 

The men were just as enticing to the red head. Clean shaven, gelled hair, pressed suits, cigarettes… it was enough to oggle everyone who passed by. 

It was the middle of the day, and the Doctor had been giving his companions a rundown of each building they passed, which Rose was regrettably only half listening to. She loved him more than anything, but she was concerned about Donna since it was her first real trip, and she kept looking over her shoulder to make sure she was doing okay. 

“Rose,” the Doctor finally said, sensing her worry through her increased heart rate. “She’s fine.”  
She was. As Rose looked back once more, she saw an expression she could only describe as one that belonged to a virgin time traveler. It reminded Rose of her very first trip with the Doctor. 

Complete wonder. 

Well, maybe not her _very_ first trip. For some reason her husband thought the end of the world would be a good first date. Maybe her second trip. A snowy evening in 1869. She definitely made that face then. 

She smiled to herself at the memory, and squeezed the Doctor’s hand. How she ever lived without holding his hand everywhere she went she will never know. 

They had crossed avenues and moved up a few streets, and the Doctor suddenly stopped and grinned. 

“The Natural History Museum!” he exclaimed. Donna groaned, but Rose felt her heart skip a beat at the excitement in his eyes. 

“Come on, let’s go in,” she said. 

“Museums creep me out,” Donna admitted as they walked up the steps to the front door. The Doctor turned to her. 

“What?!” he asked, not even trying to hide his disgust at that comment. Rose smirked. 

“Oi, it’s just a bunch of fossils and stuffed dead animals, now, isn’t it?” she said back. The Doctor looked genuinely offended. 

“Donna Noble, just what kind of museums have _you_ been to?” he asked, mortified. “Now we have to go in. You need a proper tour!” 

Rose smiled at him, and held his hand as he led them from room to room. He took his time, making sure he explained everything they saw, and Rose could see Donna’s eyes glaze over halfway through a lecture about minerals. 

They strolled, Donna eventually tuning the Doctor in and out when she wanted, and she had to admit it was more interesting and magnificent than she would have expected. There was armor from Greece in one room with emblems of the Gods on them, and Rose squeezed the Doctor’s hand at the memory of meeting the actual versions of the pictures. 

Oh how the artists were wrong. 

By the time they made it through the whole museum, which the Doctor realized didn’t yet have a space exhibit in 1922 (much to his dismay), they were all starving, and it was late afternoon. The sun was beginning to meander across the horizon, and Rose decided it was time for dinner. 

“Oh, can we please go to a speakeasy? A real, proper, actual speakeasy!” Donna shouted, and the Doctor placed a hand over her mouth. 

“Shhhh,” he said. Donna pushed his hand away. 

“What?” she asked. 

“Shout that like that in this time, especially about speakeasies, and you’ll get us all arrested. Rose and I have been arrested loads of times, not the best way to spend a trip, is it, love?” he asked. Rose bit her lip again at the endearment. He seemed to only use it around other people, and it made her heart flutter. 

“Nah, it’s really not,” she said. Donna sighed. 

“Sorry,” she said exasperated, holding her hands up in surrender. The Doctor smirked. 

“Come along, then. I do have one place in mind,” he said, and his hand found Rose’s without him even realizing it was doing it. 

How he ever lived without holding her hand everywhere he went he will never know. 

He led them down to a new part of the city, and they walked through an alley, and the Doctor grabbed Donna’s hand as well, uneasy about not knowing where she was too as they turned the corner, and they reached a shabby door. 

The Doctor looked at Rose, and she linked her arm through Donna’s as he knocked in a unique way. The door opened, and a musty smell wafted from the room. An old man wearing suspenders and a thick white mustache stood before them, and he looked at the Doctor. 

“Yeah?” he asked, his New York accent clear as the stars above them. Donna just noticed the sun had set. 

“Yes, hello! Fine night, isn’t it? It’s been hot though, panther sweat, am I right?” he said. Rose gave him a strange look, but the man simply nodded and stepped aside. 

“What was that?” Rose whispered. 

“The knock was morse code for drink, ‘panther sweat’ is the code word for this speakeasy,” he whispered back. Rose bit her lip. 

“Come here often?” she teased. He shot her a smile. 

“After you,” he said, and pushed a hidden door open at the back of the abandoned room they had just walked through. 

It was another world entirely. 

Jazz music played by live musicians echoed across the large room. Couples were dancing, and waiters were collecting and distributing drinks at record rates. Everyone was dressed to the nines, and there was a jubilant laughter wrapping itself around the Doctor, Rose, and Donna as they took it all in. 

Rose smelled lots of cigarette smoke, and she tried not to cough at how thick it made the air. 

“Come on!” the Doctor shouted over the music, and led them over to a table. 

The Doctor ordered food for the table to share. Rose was just as enamoured as Donna was, and she didn’t hear the waiter ask for her drink order. 

“Oh, um… what did you get?” she shouted at the Doctor. 

“Gin and tonic,” he told her. She nodded and held up a number 2, and the waiter moved to Donna, who ordered whatever the waiter recommended. 

The Doctor’s hand slid up Rose’s dress as they sat at the table, just a little, not too far, but enough for her to feel her breath catch and goosebumps to rise on her skin. 

He gave her a look like he was going to devour her, just for a moment, until the waiter brought their drinks and food over. 

Donna tried some of Rose’s, and she tried some of her’s. The Doctor smirked. Two peas in a pod they were becoming. It did not bode well for him. 

A man approached Donna, and asked if he could sit beside her. She blushed. 

“Of course,” she said. The Doctor cleared his throat. How did he always find the flirty ones? 

Then again, who was he to talk? His hand was back on Rose’s thigh and she was literally biting her tongue to stop from moaning his name. He could tell. 

It was exhilarating. 

“I’m Donna,” she told the mysterious man, who kissed her hand. 

“Francis Scott,” he said with a smile. Rose choked on her drink. The Doctor bit the inside of his cheek. 

“What do you do, Francis?” he asked. The man shrugged. 

“I dabble a bit with writing,” he said. “You?” 

“I travel a lot,” he said, sipping his drink. 

Donna was stunned. The man began to talk to her about how her night was going, and suddenly a small blonde woman in a glistening flapper dress pushed through the crowd and came over, grabbing him by the lapel. She dragged him to the dance floor as he tried to apologize to Donna and tell the woman they were just talking. 

The Doctor was smirking when Donna turned to him, her mouth hanging open. 

“That -” she began. 

“Yep,” the Doctor said, finishing his drink. 

“No!” Donna cried. Rose began to laugh. 

“It was,” the Doctor said. 

“And the woman -” Donna said. 

“Yep,” the Doctor said, and Donna just sank back in her chair, amazed. 

“The Beautiful and the Damned is released this year. The Great Gatsby in three. His life is about to change sooner than he thinks,” the Doctor mused, and the waiter brought him another drink. 

Rose suddenly wanted to dance. She downed the entirety of the Doctor’s new drink in one gulp, leaving him stunned and aroused, as she grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. 

“The world doesn’t end because the Doctor dances!” she shouted over the music. 

It was an upbeat song, and the Doctor felt incredibly self conscious, but he did his best to keep up with her. 

Donna remembered her wedding reception, when she played a song just for them. Those tears she had seen on the TARDIS had evaporated to something she could only describe as love on their last journey, and after they brought her back she wanted to say thank you. 

Not that the marriage worked out, mind you. 

She saw Rose beckon her over and she smiled, standing to join them. 

The three of them danced for a while, until Donna was pulled away by a very kind looking man with silky brown hair, and she shot Rose a goofy thumbs up as she moved to the other side of the dance floor. 

The Doctor figured this was his chance. 

He grabbed Rose’s hand and quickly led her to a bathroom, locking the door behind him. 

“What are you-” Rose began, but his lips found hers before she could finish the sentence, and he was sliding his hands up and down her dress, teasing her with each touch. 

“Can’t stop thinking about you,” he said, kissing her again. Rose moaned and sighed as his hands continued to explore. 

“Are you drunk?” she teased, giggling as she said it and slipping just a little. He smiled lasciviously at her. 

“No, but I think you might be,” he said as she continued to giggle, but then suddenly pulled him to her with eagerness, sucking on his lip and tearing him out of his suit coat. She tried to reach for her zipper but he stopped her hands. 

“That stays on,” he growled, and she nearly screamed from the sensation his words sent through her. 

“Gonna get us arrested for public indecency,” she moaned, and he smiled against her kiss. 

“Won’t be the last time,” he whispered, and it nearly sent her over the edge. She kissed him hard. 

It was intoxicating, the way he made her feel. He drove her crazy and definitely got on her last nerve sometimes, but he was her absolute universe. He hoisted her skirt up and wrapped her legs around his as he supported her against the sink, and felt a shiver run through him at the way she said his name. 

He couldn’t get enough of her, and he still couldn’t believe this is where they were. Married. So very much in love. 

He should have died today. The moment the Dalek’s laser aimed his direction, he should have died. In all his fears of losing Rose, it very rarely crossed his mind that _he_ would be the one to go first. But today made him realize just how possible that was, just as possible for her to go. He may have regenerated, but Daleks are vengeful, and if the blast was too strong he wouldn’t have and he knows that. 

Fact of the matter is, he could have died, one way or another, but Rose saved him. 

Again. 

His Bad Wolf. His Impossible Human. Perfect and pink and yellow and now gold, and he finally truly understood what Rose meant all these months when she asked him to live in the “here and now”. 

Here and now is exactly where he wanted to be. Wrapped up in Rose in every sense of the word. 

It’s a curse, seeing the entirety of time and space. A curse he knows Rose is starting to understand, each time she accesses Bad Wolf, he knows she can see it too. But even with all his knowledge of timelines, he missed the one where a Dalek points its laser at him with Rose as his last thought before it fires. 

He can’t predict everything...

He thrusted faster as Rose cried, her head thrown back and he licked her neck, murmuring his love to her in Gallifreyan. Her hands gripped his Oxford and he felt her explode around him, sending him along with her, messy kisses meeting her forehead. 

“Rose…” he whispered, and she wrapped her arms around him, which caused them both to gasp as he was still very much a part of her at the moment. 

“Doctor,” she mumbled, kissing him. 

“Thank you for saving me. And I don’t just mean today,” he said. She nodded. 

“Always,” she said. “Just like how you save me.” 

“Yeah,” the Doctor said, smiling. 

They pulled apart and cleaned up a bit, and the Doctor helped Rose fix up her hair and headband before walking out the door back to the dance floor. 

Now she smelled like honey, peonies, and him, which was already sending his senses wild again. 

How does she _do_ it? 

Donna, to her credit, knew they had slipped away but didn’t comment or make it a big deal as they joined her. 

“How are you?” the Doctor asked. Donna grinned. 

“Bloody fantastic!” she shouted. The Doctor smiled. 

The room was hot and Rose could see beads of sweat on Donna’s brow, and she was certain she was probably covered in it well. The cigarette smoke was thicker, and the lights were glowing dimmer, and eventually Donna looked at the Doctor and he knew she was ready to go. He glanced at Rose, who nodded, understanding they were all fairly knackered, and he threw some American bills on the table and led Donna and Rose back out the door. 

The cool air of the night was more than refreshing, even to him. Might have been the sex that warmed his bloodstream, and he couldn’t stop himself but smiling at that thought. 

Donna took a deep breath, and looked at the Doctor. 

“You were right,” she said. He cocked an eyebrow at her. 

“About?” he asked. 

“When you both dropped me off before, I asked you if you always live your life like how it was that day. Danger, fear, death… and you, Doctor, told me ‘not always’ and I didn’t believe you. But you were right. This was...amazing,” she said, smiling at them. 

“Oh, don’t get him wrong, Donna. There is quite a bit of danger,” Rose said grinning. Donna laughed. 

“I know. You killed a Dalek today, too…” she said, trailing off. “How do you do it?” 

“Do what?” the Doctor asked. 

“Jump from one problem to the next, even with days like this in between?” she said. 

Both the Doctor and Rose weren’t sure how to answer that question. 

“I s’pose we don’t really think about it much,” Rose said finally. “Long as we’re together, the rest is...whatever, you know?” 

Donna shook her head as she watched the moon, sighing. She realized she had been awake for forty hours at least, and her knees were starting to give out on her, but she also wasn’t quite ready for the day to end. 

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say the universe threw you two together,” she said with a smile. Rose blushed, and the Doctor felt his throat tighten. They both knew just how true that was. 

Destiny, Rose had called it. 

They continued to walk through town. Taxis were still out, and the Doctor could see Donna was falling asleep standing up, so he hailed one and helped her into it, followed by Rose, and they rode together to the corner the TARDIS was parked at. 

The city was illuminated by artificial lights, but it still reminded Rose of the stars as they watched the taxi drive off. A wave of exhaustion washed over her as well, and she found herself leaning against the Doctor’s chest as he opened the door, and he couldn’t help but make sure both Donna and Rose watched their step as they entered. Humans forget that sort of thing when they are as tired as he knows they are. 

“Get some rest, Donna. There’s a room for you to the right side of the hallway, the TARDIS will show you,” he said. 

“Oi, mate, that’s weird,” she murmured. “But thank you.” 

He smiled at her as she gave him a quick hug, and Rose was peeling her heels off her feet when she felt Donna hug her too, smiling at her. 

“Goodnight, weirdos,” she called as she bounded off to her room. 

The Doctor moved to Rose and saw she was rubbing her feet. 

“You okay?” he asked. 

“Yeah, just haven’t worn heels in a while. A bit sore, have a few blisters,” she said. 

“I can fix that in the med bay if you want,” he murmured. She shook her head. 

“Tomorrow, now is time for sleep,” she said, pressing her forehead into his chest. He laughed and helped her up. 

“I love you,” he said. 

“I love you, too.” 

::::

Hours later, once everyone had rested a bit, they dropped Donna off at her flat back in Chiswick two hours after they had first left. She thought it was barking mad that they were able to do that, but she hugged them both tightly before she walked off the TARDIS. They were standing just in the doorway, and she turned back to them. 

“If you ever stop by again, I’d be up for another trip,” she said with a smile. The Doctor grinned back. 

“See you next month?” he asked. Donna laughed. 

“Sure,” she said. “Take care of each other.” 

“We will,” Rose said. Donna waved and moved up the street to her building, disappearing behind the glass door under the moonlight. 

The Doctor closed the door and looked at Rose. 

“Wanna go somewhere?” he asked. 

“Someplace new,” she hummed, and the Doctor bounced over to the console, pulling the lever. 

Once they were in the Vortex, he flashed Rose a wide grin and pressed a button so the TARDIS could pick their next adventure. 

As soon as he did, however, he regretted it.


End file.
